Road to Oblivion
by kiyohunter
Summary: During the Keyblade War, the word "Keyblade" was used as a name of scorn for the detested. It was because of three young Key-bearers that the Realm of Light was saved from everlasting darkness and the reputation of the Keyblade restored.
1. Chapter 1: The Dream

_So this is my first fanfic ever. Wow. I'm actually kinda nervous. This will be a multichapter story as well. Wish me luck._

_This is a Keyblade War fanfic set probably hundreds of years before Birth By Sleep, so all the characters are OC's. _

_Since I'm just making this up as I go, there are no set dates for chapter uploads for now._

_Sorry for the super long intro. I'll try to keep the later chapters shorter. Here we go!_

Chapter 1: The Dream

The first thing he felt was the sensation of windIt wasn't a rushing gale of air but a faint, gentle breeze that ruffled through his hair and brushed his face softly. He couldn't feel any solid ground beneath his feet and his body seemed as though he was lying on stomach yet there was nothing to indicate that anything underneath him was holding him aloft. At once he knew the cause for these odd circumstances. There was only one explanation. The boy opened his eyes slowly and saw that he was flying. He was flying swiftly over a starry ocean, though how this was possible the boy did not understand.

He looked at his surroundings in awe. The sky was a deep midnight blue full of stars, which were reflected on the water below him as specks in the distance. Splashes of vibrant colors were splayed across the sky like wispy paint on a canvas. He could almost say they were bright blue and pink clouds. The ocean beneath him stretched out as far as the eyes could see.

Or was it an ocean? The vast expanse of water was so still he almost hadn't noticed it.

The boy concentrated and maneuvered himself lower so he could touch the ocean's surface. He extended his arm and trailed his fingers through the crystal clear water…and drew back instantly in alarm. The spray he had been expecting leapt up at him as bursts of pure light. He ran his fingers back through the water. Yep, it was water alright, evident by the cool wetness left behind on his skin. As the boy continued to run his fingers through the water he stared at the beautiful trails of light. All the colors of the rainbow flashed by with each burst of that light, holding him mesmerized.

After awhile the boy shook his head and floated back up towards the sky. He had been flying for some time now with no clear destination. There was nothing but the brilliant, starry sky above and all around him. The thought that he might just stay like this, floating through endless space for eternity, crossed his mind and it perturbed him. Surely he must be going somewhere or else what was the point of flying on and on without purpose? No sooner did he think this did he suddenly find he wasn't flying anymore. Well, he was, but not of his own free will. He was being pulled forward by some unseen force.

His flying gained in speed , and that once sweet, gentle breeze turned into harsh gusts of wind pushing against his body. It seemed to be trying to stop him from going forward. Not that he could help it. The force tugged at him with more strength, making him fly faster. In response the wind seemed to push against him with more and more power.

The boy saw though squinted eyes that the stars around him had begun winking out of existence. One by one they faded until they had all disappeared. The once colorful sky had turned dark, mutating into a mass of swirling black and purple. The boy could sense he was being drawn into the epicenter of a storm of darkness. It filled his gut with a sinking feeling, and he knew there would be no going back. Whatever it was he was heading for would swallow him whole; it would consume him until there was nothing left. Straight ahead of him was a glowing object. It was no bigger than a dot at first, but as he sped closer it grew. It grew bigger until he gasped when he saw that before him was an actual world.

This world was unlike any other he had ever seen. It was a solid mass of ominous energy being sucked into a vortex. The boy could feel, he could _see_, the overwhelming darkness radiating off of it, the sheer power of it so enormous the vortex couldn't contain it all. The boy was being drawn into this nightmare of a world. He was being pulled straight to the surface, through it, to its black core.

As he passed by he saw orbs of dark energy raining down from the sky and exploding on contact. Jagged pillars of rock decorated the world's surface, resting on an invisible ground. The boy shot through everything as that mysterious force dragged him down to the heart of this condemned world. After passing through layers of thick darkness like a ghost, the boy reached his destination. At the core of this world was a cave-like room. In the center of this nightmare laid a single entity. The boy's eyes widened in terror.

Before him stood a massive creature that towered above everything around it. Its huge muscled form was wrapped entirely in tentacles as black as its ugly body. Demonic wings that were twice its height protruded out from its back to fill the cave. A crown of rough black metal entwined by twisted thorns rested on its head, which was also wrapped in those dark tentacles. Though the creature's body was a deeper black than even the darkest night, it was the eyes that frightened the boy the most. Giant, glowing golden orbs were fixated on the boy with a unblinking stare. The boy was being pulled toward this monster.

He suppressed a shudder throughout his body.

Something moved in the corner of his eye, and the boy glanced around to see objects falling down into the cave. They were the stars he had seen before being brought to this place; the same ones that were so beautifully reflected on the ocean. One of the stars fell to where it was only inches from his nose. Now that they were so close, he could see they were just tiny orbs of pure light. They emitted a warmth that temporarily made him forget about the creature in front of him That lapse in memory didn't last long. Suddenly the tentacles that were wrapped around the creature lashed out and strangled the stars. The stars were pulled into the creature's body and engulfed in shadow. As each one fell to darkness they screamed faintly before dying forever. The sound of their dying agony echoed through the cave. The boy was utterly appalled.

Then the tentacles grabbed ahold of the boy in a suffocating grip. He kicked and struggled in mindless panic as they dragged him closer to the monster until he touched it. Immediately upon contact a sickening shill overcame the boy's body. The numbing cold froze his limbs so he could no longer move or resist. He was sucked inside the creature without a sound of protest. His mind went blank and all emotion drained from him. The boy could no longer think, feel, care…There was nothing but the deafening roar of the beast as the boy succumbed to darkness. He was drowning deeper and deeper into darkness until only the roar of the creature rang in his ears.

Adage woke up with a start, snapping his eyes open and quickly shutting them again to the harsh morning light. His thoughts raced. So it was all just a dream; the ocean, that world, that creature, and the darkness…none of it was real. Sweat beaded down his forehead, causing his hair to stick to his skin. Whether it was from the blazing hot air or the fear coursing through him he wasn't sure. He could feel his heart beating so rapidly it felt like it would bounce right out of his chest. Adage forced himself to take deep breaths and calm down.

"Relax, idiot," he scoffed to himself. "It was only a dream. Honestly, it's a mystery how I ever got through life without dying of a heart attack."

This time when Adage opened his eyes he held up his hand to block out the sun. Adage eased himself off the dried grass onto his elbows. Brushing sticky brown locks out of his eyes, he scanned the area. Nothing had changed since he had fallen asleep. He was still lying in the same dry, yellow grass plain a little ways away from the main road. The endless, even plain ran forever towards the horizon and a forest of sparse trees in the distance stood outlining his surroundings. The sun was even in the same position as before. He must not have been asleep for very long, but it felt like he had been dreaming for hours.

For a moment Adage wondered if anyone saw him passed out on the grass. They probably would have thought he was some homeless bum dumped off the side of the road. He stared down at himself. As usual, he was wearing his short-sleeved white and blue kimono shirt with another tight-fitting black shirt underneath, tucked into navy blue pants by a belt. His pant legs were a teeny bit shorter than they should be, but that was to make room for his black boots. To his dismay, his clothes were covered in dirt and his boots caked in mud. _That's right. I haven't washed my clothes for a while._ The only thing that remained untouched was a stylized silver heart hung around his neck on a chain. Drowsiness stung at his eyes, but he refused to return back to that nightmare.

"Oh well," Adage muttered to himself, "no use sitting around here, seeing as I can't get any sleep."

Adage started to get to his feet when suddenly he froze. He remained that way for a second until he heard what he had been listening for. From just behind him he heard a low growl. Adage spun around looking for the source.

The dream!

It was the same roar of the monster he saw in his dream, only now it was quieter. All the same, it was right next to him. Again the growl came from behind him and Adage twirled like crazy searching for the creature. Then a rumble from his abdomen accompanied the growl. Adage stared down at his stomach and placed a hand on it. His stomach continued to growl violently, paining him to where Adage clutched it.

"Heh, I should have known," he laughed. "Of course you'd be hungry. I haven't had a bite to eat for hours!" His stomach agreed by protesting it angry starvation with another growl, this time louder than before.

"Alright, alright. I was just getting ready to go anyway."

Adage stood up and walked back to the main road. It was just a dirt path that was wider than the others branching off from it, but he knew it would lead him straight to the nearest city. His footfalls kicked up large amounts of dust with every step. The road was cropped by short grass that had obviously seen too much sun. Adage looked up at that ball of heat in the sky. He wasn't used to the extreme weather of this world. Unlike here, his home was almost never beaten by the sun. Though the daytime was always bright, the air remained cool.

Home.

Ever since he left Adage hadn't really thought about his world. He had done his best to be off the radar, so no real news about home ever reached him. What happened while he was gone? Did anyone try to find him? Adage hung his head and sighed.

Trying to think about it made him feel depressed, so he pushed all thoughts of his former life aside. Instead he turned his thoughts on his peculiar dream. Never before had his dreams been so vivid or so…real. He flexed his fingers. The numbness hadn't completely left him. He could still feel the icy cold touch of the creature and the suffocating darkness. And the stars; they reminded him of all the worlds out there within the Realm of Light. What exactly was that creature which snuffed out their light like the flame of a candle? Adage got an odd feeling of premonition, like his dream was warning him of something. He sensed he would soon find out whether that creature was real or not. A storm was coming that threaten to plunge the worlds into darkness, that much he knew. Now he had to figure out a way to stop it.

The ground beneath his feet had changed. Adage's footsteps now sounded like _clop, clop_. That brought him back to reality. He stared ahead with focus. Indeed, the road had changed. Instead of dirt, it was paved with cobblestones. He was nearing town now. His stomach rumbled in anticipation.

Adage chuckled. "Yeah, I can't wait too," he said while rubbing his stomach. "I'm going to go to the first restaurant I see and order six plates of the biggest meal they have. Hmmm…I hope they have some sea-salt ice cream for dessert, as well."

He was jolted out of his hungry pondering when suddenly the sound of scream reached his ears. Adage dashed forward on an instinctive response to the cries. About a half kilometer away he could see smoke rising over the grassy plain. Adage's eyes narrowed in determination and he put on a burst of speed as he sprinted towards town. He passed a wooden sign that read:

WELCOME TO:

HAVEN FIELDS

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><p><em>You've reached the end! Thanks for sticking with it if you didn't skip to the bottom. Hopefully it wasn't too bad for a first chapter. If you liked it, please review so I stay inspired to continue this fanfic.<em>


	2. Chapter 2: Haven Fields

Chapter 2: Haven Fields

As Adage ran into town, throngs of screaming people were running _out_. Mothers, their crying children, and farmers ran for their lives from the threat he had yet to reach. He ignored them as he rushed by at full speed, but noted they all seemed to be coming from the town center. The crowd quickly became thick with people and Adage struggled to wade through the masses without trampling or being trampled on by anyone. He accidently elbowed a small boy in the face and thoughtlessly yelled "Sorry!" over his shoulder.

He soon reached the entrance gates. A guard was posted there, ushering civilians past him with shouts of "Please leave the town immediatly!" and the occasional shove. Adage paid him no mind and made to rush past when a hand stopped him.

"The town is under seige. Please turn around and proceed to a safe area," the guard ordered.

"Let me through. I can help," Adage replied.

The man shook his head and laid a hand on Adage's shoulder. "Sorry, son. It's too dangerous right now." Adage tried to continue forward.

"Sir, I really can help. Just let me-"

The man tightned his grip on Adage's shoulder. "No. That's final. A kid like you'd only get hurt."

Adage glanced sideways at the hand. The man had a point, though it wasn't about the danger. _No one would thank me for assissting, so why should I? _

Because it's the right thing to do.

He thought a second longer and whispered "No, I won't." Suddenly he pried the guard's hand off his shoulder and wrenched it sideways. A tell-tale snap determined the wrist had been broken. The man cried out in pain and doubled over. Seizing the oppurtunity, Adage sprinted past him.

No sooner did he get ten feet away did he hear shouts of "Get him!" and the sound of running footsteps. With a quick look behind, he saw a few more guards trying to catch him and haul him back out of town.

Adage spotted an alleyway up ahead and turned into it. His heart stopped when he noticed it was a dead end.

Now what?

The sounds of the guards grew closer and Adage glanced around for options. The walls were low enough to climb, so he quickly scurried up one and onto a roof. No sooner did he do so did the guards appear, looking bewildered.

"Where'd he go?" one asked. The others looked around but could find no trace of Adage, who got down on his belly and watched them. After a minute, the guards turned away and strode out of the alley. "Leave him. If the kid stays here, he's dead anyway," a guard muttered somberly. "We better go before we join him." With that, they disappeared.

Adage sighed with relief and sat up. They were right. Not about him being killed, but his kind of help would only bring trouble. Someone like him wasn't well receieved in worlds like these. But that didn't matter. He couldn't stand by when people were in trouble if he could do something about it.

Adage went over what he knew about Haven Fields. Perhaps it could explain what might be going on here.

According to its files, the world itself was relatively small, consisting of a single settlement surrounded by acres of cropland. Haven Fields was supposed to be a modestly sized town with an equally limited population. It acted as a major agricultural community and supplied many other worlds with food. However, its most famous feature was that it is the only world to have never been attacked by the darkness, hence its name. It was the only safe zone left, a "haven," for citizens to live in peace. That was precisely the reason Adage came here. A world such as this must hold many secrets.

He couldn't explain this feeling, but perhaps that reputation was about to come to an end.

Approaching footsteps made Adage duck back down, thinking it was those guards again. But this time, they sounded metalic in nature. Then several armored figures ran past the alleyway. _Different guards? With armor?_ "Quickly!" he heard the leader bark, "they're storming the Agricultural Silos. This way, men!" Adage raced after the guards, running on the rooftops. They would lead him to whatever was threatening the townsfolk.

A sneaking suspicion nagged at his mind. What could possibly attack a poor town such as this? _Could this enemy be…? No, there's no way. I refuse to believe that it could be them._ Despite his doubts, his dream found itself worming its way into his thoughts. That foreboding feeling returned alongside the memory of the monster.

Soon the gigantic silos the supposed guards were talking about came into view on his left, letting Adage forget about his worries for a moment.

Now that he saw them, "processing plant" seemed a better name. There were three silos, reaching about 29 meters in height, connected by a mixture of massive walls and a network of conveyor belts transporting food. It resembled a factory more than anything. Adage guessed the silo "plant" was the source of Haven Fields' livelihood as it processed, preserved, and stored all their crops for future use.

This particular section of town had almost been evacuated, so Adage hopped back down to street level. The armored guards rounded a corner with him in hot pursuit. That's when he saw the menance attacking this peacful world and he came to a screeching halt.

Overrunning the armed guards defending the Silo plant were hordes of Heartless.

Adage was too stunned by the sight that met his eyes to move. Never before had he seen such a large density of Heartless in one place. There had to be a hundred of them, probably more. As in their fashion, the Heartless attacked in a tidal wave formation, trying to bombard their opponents with sheer numbers. A seperate horde of them ravaged the homes and buildings while the rest focused on bringing down the Silos. _Thank god there are only Shadows,_ Adage observed with relief.

His gaze drifted to the struggling guards as they fought to defend the Silos; and with success, no less. They were fending off the Heartless quite well. A little _too_ well. Local security, if that's what they were, shouldn't be this good. The guards worked in perfect synchronization, covering each other's backs as they pounded and slashed Shadows left and right. Even their movements were nothing like the uncoordinated swinging of local militia. Behind an impecably erected barrier, archers rained down arrows on the Heartless with pinpoint accuracy. It was a holding position to keep the Heartless at bay. The sounds of orders being barked filled the air.

"Hold them back! They can't be allowed to get to the Silos!"

"Watch the flank!"

"Close that gap, they're breaking through!"

No, they weren't simple security at all. These were soldiers.

Despite the onslaught, the soldiers were keeping the Heartless away from the Silos no matter what. Adage could tell they were trained for situations just like this.

Well, so was he. Mind made up, he stepped out from his hiding place to assist.

Just as Adage started to dash forward, a child's scream caused him to pause. He whipped around to see that one family still hadn't evacuated yet. A little girl had been separated from her parents by a gang of Shadows. Adage watched as the girl ran and stumbled attempting to flee from the Heartless. She tripped then turned in fear at the approaching monsters.

From a distance, the mother screamed "No! Shika!" while her husband held her back.

Adage grit his teeth as he was asssailed by memories. An image of two crying boys holding each other, surrounded by Heartless, flashed through his mind. _No, not again._ _Never again_. He ran like lightning to the girl's aid.

The Heartless jumped for the final strike. The girl named Shika cowered against the ground with her hands covering her head.

In a flash Adage appeared between the two. A Keyblade materialized in his hand and he blocked their attack, turning it into a struggle for an advantage. He was forced onto one knee by the weight of their stalemate. Gathering all his strength, he swung his Keyblade in an arch as hard as he could. His weapon slashed though all of the creatures at once and they vanished into nothing.

Adage turned to check on the girl. The were no signs of any wounds on her person. _No injuries; she's scared, but otherwise unharmed. This should be a bit easier then. Good._ However, her eyes were glued to his Keyblade in a mixture of fear and disbelief. _That's not though._

"Are you alright?" Adage asked her. She made no attempt to respond. "Are you alright?" he demanded again with a bit of a commanding tone. She flinched and stared at him as if noticing the person attached to the Keyblade for the first time. She gave a frightened, sharp nod.

"That's better. Hold on to me," he ordered. He picked her up with one arm and she wrapped hers around his neck in a fierce grip, albeit reluctantly.

Adage turned to face a swarm of Heartless between him and the girl's parents. His training kicked in and he assessed the situation. The numbers of enemies between him and his objective was roughly the size of a platoon. Obviously an advantage on their part, but not a huge problem for him. What was going to be tough was the girl hanging onto him for dear life, hindering his mobility. There was no way around them. _I guess it's straight through the middle then._

He held his Keyblade ready and once again raced forward. The Heartless lunged at him all at once, claws outstretched to slice him to ribbons. He dodged and rolled past their wild attacks, lashing out with his Keyblade to strike the occasional Shadow. The Heartless drew back and huddled close together. An alarm went off in his head and he launched into the air on impulse. As the swarm charged straight at him as one, he soared over the wave of writhing creatures and landed greacefully behind them like a cat.

Now past the swarm, Adage ran to the girl's parents as they ran to meet him. The mother reached out to her daughter. "Oh Shika! I was so worried," she sputtered.

"She's okay, ma'am," Adage said calmly as he handed the shaking girl over to her mother. "You people have to go. Please take your daughter and evacuate this area immediatly."

The father nodded, grabbed his wife by the shoulders and hurriedly led her away. Adage didn't miss the look of distrust on the man's face as he left.

He turned around to survey the soldiers' situation. They had defeated a large portion of the Heartless, but plenty still remained. That was the difficulty with Shadows; individually they were about as bothersome as flies, but they almost always appeared _en masse_. They would overpower you though sheer numbers.

The soldiers were killing Shadows left and right, but by now their own numbers were dwindling from increasing losses.

He briedly wondered about that. Even against an abundance of Shadows, these men were skilled enough to deal with them. How was it that so many had been struck down? One thing was for certain, without help they didn't stand a chance.

Adage groaned in pain as his side ached at the thought. Even though he wanted to help, he couldn't use too advanced magic in his starved state. And a prolonged battle would be just as bad. He was just too tired and hungry.

_There's no helping it. Maybe one spell will suffice._

He gripped his Keyblade and focused his mind, daring to close his eyes to concentrate. Magical power surged within him as he gathered energy. Almost instantly he had gathered enough magic power and he opened his eyes.

"_Haste!"_ Adage yelled, brining his Keyblade down to touch the ground. A magic cirlce emerged at his feet in the form of a glowing clock. Its hands spun at a blinding speed and his body became engulfed in golden light.

His eyes snapped open and he surged forward, straight into the heart of the Heartless, spinning like a whirling hurricane as he slashed and hacked wildly at every foe his Keyblade could reach.

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><p>These fragile humans were too easy. The creature of darkness would have laughed if it had a heart.<p>

Their meager armor, painted red like the color of their blood, did nothing to protect them from its attacks. It struck one across the stomach, effortlessly cutting through the metal and into the soft flesh of the human. The man gave a strangled yell of pain and fell down dead.

Another saw this and charged the creature to avenge his fallen comrade. He swiped at the monster with practiced accuracy, but was no match for its speed. It manuevered around the blade and plunged its claws into his chest. A gurgling sound came from the helmet he wore. The creature extracted its clawed hand, covered in red blood, and the human stumbled before collapsing next to the other.

So, so easy.

A group of humans, also in armor, rushed to surround the creature of darkness. It knew they couldn't beat it and began to advance. Then suddenly it froze, limbs seizing up, antennae twitching erratically. It could sense it, a strong heart unlike the meak ones on this world. It was pure, lacking any hint of darkness.

The being of shadows glanced around frantically until its eyes settled on the source. A _Keyblader_. His light outshone the pathetic hearts around him. This was surely the light the creature had been summoned to find. A delicious light which matched the thick darkness that made up its very being.

The humans hesitated to press their advanatage when the creature paused to stare at the Keyblader. Just as they had the sense to attack, it melted into the ground and crawled towards its new prey.

It knew it had no heart and therefore could experiece emotions, but it swore it almost felt...excited.

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><p>Adage ducked as razor sharp claws tried to decapitate him but slashed at empty air. He swung his Keyblade and moved on to his next victim before his opponent could flinch. He weaved through the Shadows faster than the eye could follow, not giving a single one the chance to defend itself.<p>

The ease of the battle meant little comfort. For every enemy he struck down, two more seemed to take it's place. _Two, five, twelve, twenty; There's no end to these abominations._ Adage could feel his limbs aching in protest as he strained to keep going.

He blocked a flying kick aimed at his head, spinning his Keyblade in his palm to throw it off balance before slicing though its abdomen. It exploded in a burst of darkness. As if on cue, another popped up were it disappeared.

Suddenly the new enemy stopped and backed off. Adage was dumbfounded. _Are they...giving me a rest? That's ridiculous. Somthing's up._ He paused to evaluate his surroundings, and to give his aching limbs a brief respite.

Bad idea.

Suddenly he sensed a mass of darkness approaching, and approaching _fast._ The attack came so quickly, even under the power of Haste he couldn't react in time. Sharp claws swiped at his lower back and he staggered, yelling in agony.

Ignoring the warm wetness running down his back, he lashed out with his Keyblade behind him. A tall silhoutte backflipped several feet away. Even through eyes squinted in pain Adage could see what it was.

A Neoashadow. Stronger, faster, and smarter than its diminuitve cousins. This one had to be the leader of the rest.

The Neoshadow stared at its sullied claws intently. It slowly brought them up to its face, staring at Adage the whole time. Then it dragged its claws across where its "mouth" would be, leaving a trail of blood, _his_ blood, in the form of a grotesque smile.

Adage grimaced. This would not end well.

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><p><em>AN: I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. Life hasn't been giving me much free time. Well, it's up now, so tell me what you guys, my readers, think. Any crticism is appreciated and will be used for the betterment of this story._


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